Fire survivors unite to bring Halloween back to Lahaina

LAHAINA (HawaiiNewsNow) – The festivities in Lahaina had an extra special feeling on Thursday night.
For many residents, it is their first year decorating and dressing up since the disaster last summer.
“Last year, we were all in the hotels, so we celebrated in the hotels, and I think that this just gives the families the opportunity to do something that feels normal. A way for us to gather and just lay down the load of what happened over the past year and just have fun,” said Lahaina fire survivor Courtney Lazo.
Leialii is one of the few neighborhoods that is still standing after the tragedy. Residents there decided to bring Halloween back this year.
“We decided that we wanted to come back this year for Halloween with a bang. We wanted to help bring some normalcy back to Lahaina, and also back to our neighborhood, and just bring the excitement back to our keiki,” said Leialii resident Julynn Ii.
Many fire survivors moved in with their ohana who live in Leialii after losing their homes.
Leialii residents say that is the spirit they are hoping to capture this Halloween – a kakoo effort to bring smiles back to their families’ faces, especially the keiki.
“Last year it was eerie, very quiet. Usually, like on our street, it’s usually the loudest street, everybody is usually out in the driveways. No one was out in the driveways, well, except for my dad and his classmates, and he said he had like two or three trick-or-treaters that came, and that was it. Usually there’s at least like a wave of hundreds and hundreds of people that come through here,” Ii said.
The festivities kicked off with a parade, followed by a keiki costume contest.
There was also a haunted house, keiki activities, arts and crafts, pumpkin carving and pumpkin painting.
In addition to passing out candy, residents also passed out shave ice, cotton candy and popcorn.
For many years, people from around the world traveled to Lahaina’s Front Street to celebrate Halloween.
Leialii residents said they hope this will be a new tradition.
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